Thrifty Scottish parents make second-hand clothes the norm

Dawn Renton

More Scottish children are wearing hand-me-down clothes now than a generation ago, according to a new survey commissioned by household cleaning experts, ACE.

More than 70 per cent of parents in Scotland say they accept second-hand clothes for their kids, whilst 43 per cent hand-down all the children’s clothing that is in a suitable condition, to younger children or friends. This compares with just 51 per cent of these parents who say they wore second-hand clothes themselves when they were children.

The survey suggests that it isn’t only modern-day thriftiness that is driving hand-me-down behaviour. The rise of the ‘eBay Generation’ is also having an effect, with 43 per cent of Scottish parents admitting to buying children’s clothes second-hand and 38 per cent saying they have sold clothes, either online or at a table top sale.

Despite this buoyant market for second-hand clothing, Scottish parents still aren’t that good at caring for their clothes. Less than a quarter use a stain remover in their wash regularly, compared with a massive 73 per cent who use a fabric conditioner, scoring softness over cleanliness.

This may explain why stains mean that over a quarter of parents in Scotland throw away more than ten items of clothing per child in their first five years of life.

Kevin Day, product manager for the ACE range of laundry stain removers, said: “It is great to see parents getting full value from their kids’ clothing, and a very positive message given today’s ‘throw-away’ culture. However it is clear that families could save money, and have stain-free children, if they used all the tools in the laundry arsenal.”